Sony announces FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens

Along with the a9, Sony introduced a new G Master lens, the FE 100-400 F4.5-5.6 GM OSS. It features a double linear motor and Direct Drive Super Sonic wave Motor for precise and quiet operation for still and video shooting. Sony also claims that it has 'edge to edge' sharpness. The lens has a minimum focus distance of 98cm/3.2 feet and weighs in at a 'lightweight' 1.4kg/49 oz.

The new full-frame lens maintains the high standard of resolution that is shared among all of Sony’s flagship line of G Master™ series, while also offering incredibly fast, precise AF capabilities, a lightweight, portable design and a variety of professional functions and customizability. It’s an exceptionally powerful photographic tool for a variety of enthusiast and professional shooters, in particular those that are commonly shooting sports or wildlife.

Uncompromised G Master Design and Performance

A super telephoto zoom that meets the intense build requirements of Sony’s acclaimed G Master series lens lineup, the new FE 100-400mm GM model produces outstanding corner-to-corner sharpness throughout the lens’ zoom and focus ranges and beautiful rendered ‘bokeh’ or background defocus, ensuring the finest details are brought out in every subject and scene.

The complex design features 22 lens elements configured in 16 different groups, including one Super ED (Extra-low Dispersion) and two ED glass elements, all of which are working together to minimize chromatic aberration and ensure the ultimate resolution is captured. The lens also has Sony’s original Nano AR coating, which is particularly useful for shooting sports scenes or wildlife, as it reduces unwanted reflections.

Precise, Quick AF Performance

In order to keep up with fast-moving action, the new FE 100-400mm GM super telephoto zoom lens features a combination of double linear motor and a Direct Drive SSM actuator, which also ensures precise, quiet operation.

The double motor system allows rapid focus lens drive acceleration to capture the sudden motion that is common with sports and wildlife photography, while high precision positioning control and a newly optimized AF algorithm ensure the subject is quickly found and focused on. This ensures that the maximum AF performance of a camera like the new α9 is realized.

Lightweight Design, Extensive Customizability

In order to satisfy the extensive demands of customers craving lighter, smaller and more portable super telephoto lenses, the new FE 100-400mm GM weighs in at a mere 49.3 ounces (1,395 grams), making it among the lightest in its class and an ideal fit for Sony’s wide range of compactly designed cameras.

Functionally, the lens has a zoom torque adjustment ring – a first for Sony α – allowing the user to adjust the level of torque in the ring to zoom faster or slower depending on their shooting style. There is also a focus hold button that can also be assigned to variety of functions including focus mode selection, AF area selection or the popular Eye AF lock feature.

The telephoto zoom lens is dust and moisture resistant as well1, and has fluorine coating on the front lens that makes it easier to remove dust or grease. There is also a removable tripod mount.

Professional Operation and Reliability

The new FE 100-400mm GM Super Telephoto Zoom lens features built-in optical image stabilization, ensuring that sharp images can be captured during handheld shooting. It also offers a minimum focusing range of just 3.22 feet (0.98 meters), which maximizes its versatility in the field, and a 9 bladed circular aperture design that produces soft, beautiful bokeh.

The FE 100-400mm GM is compatible with both the 1.4x (model SEL14TC) and 2.0x (model SEL20TC) teleconverters, allowing photographers and videographers to shoot at up to 800mm on full-frame cameras and approx.1200mm (35mm full-frame equivalent) on APS-C cameras.

Pricing and Availability

The new FE 100-400mm GM Super Telephoto Zoom Lens ship this July for about $2,500 US and $3,399 CA.

Comments

Sony, I know you are listening. How about a 300mm f4, 400mm f4.5, or 500mm f6.3 prime for your next telephoto?

It could be:

-Cheap-Sharp-Fast AF-Fine contrast-Low element count-Lightweight-Reasonably compact for such length/quality imaging capabilities-There's no comparable prime adaptable with AF to E-mount; Sony could fill a niche currently not being met.

Reasons not to make a long zoom telephoto (megazoom):

-Nobody is using it at 100, 170, or 200. We will buy other (smaller) lenses for this-heavier than necessary-bulkier than necessary-offers flatter, washed out images more than necessary-costing more than necessary

Reasons not to make a fast long telephoto as your next wildlife/sports lens:

-We're not shooting iso 50 film anymore. I can make up for one stop easily via iso and bokeh change negligible at such length.-price-limited market-weight -size

With 400mm at 5.6 the 2X teleconverter makes me wonder if it will still autofocus and if so, how fast. Also with the 2X teleconverter what will the IQ be like. It will need at least a 1.4X converter for birds. Sounds like a big chunk of change for the lens and two teleconverters. I'll wait for the reviews or better yet rent the lens and teleconverters first. Then....if it does a better job than my adapted Canon 400 f4, I may consider getting it.

The A9 has a new array of AF detectors, with 93% coverage and useable down to f/11. This is important because the current Sony ILCE cameras stop down to the preset level during focusing, presumable to negate focus shift.

There are about 2 lenses that are needed for crop - wide angle prime(s) and good quality compact not ultra expensive kit lens like 16-50/2.8-4 that Fuji have. What else is there that you crave so much....

18-35/1.8 from Sigma or 50-100/1.8 work just great on MC-11. I do not see need for Sony to make the same lenses only to triple the price and deliver inferior IQ

Fun with equivalence.This is either similar to an F/2.3-F/2.8 50-200mm zoom. ( a bit better than a 40-150mm F/2.8 zoom)ORWhen forced to crop to 200-800mm an F/9-F/11 zoom (with a 3/4ths MP loss). ...so not as good as a 200-800mm EFL lens that is an F/9-F/12 equivalent for near 1/2 the price. :)

Exactly. When I read about the 100-400 yesterday I regretted having bought the 70-200 GM + 1.4x TC - for a few seconds, when it suddenly appeared to me that I could live without the missing 280-400 mm range most of the time but never without the 70-100 mm range.

Lets wait for the reviews. The Sony FE 70-200 GM is the sharpets zoom ever tested at DXOMARK out of all brands. Will be interesting to see if this zoom is as sharp, and if focus speed matches the A9 20fps.

@ttran88 - if you are going to pick nits, at least pick legitimate ones. Sony marks lens as FE to indicate E-mount with full-frame coverage. You know that. Talking about FE mount is a concise way to say that. Even DP review has picked up on it, and the spec summary says "Lens mount: FE".

Only bad part is the absurd pricing. No way I will pay this money for this lens. It is a dark slow low quality zoom lens and it will not make pancakes or shoot in the dark or fill all the pixels on A7r2 or A6500 or attract beautiful females. The price is just absurd. I would rather buy 80D and sigma 150-600 S lens just for long tele shooting and not use my A7m2 or A6300 in that case - Canon's is cheaper combo that likely works better.......

" The new 100-400mm lens features Sony's first use of a Torque ring." - is there anything at all about this lens that wasn't simply stolen from Canon? Even the darned switches (all of them) are the same. It reeks of being an expensive Knock-off.

Ok finally a useful longer tele zoom lens in FE mount, specs are good, price is not which we expect from Sony. Hopefully it will drop over time.

The A9 is only 24MP, so 400mm won't cut it for birding, we need Sigma and Tamron to release FE mount versions of their 150-600 zooms and Sigma to release FE 300/400 f/2.8 and 500/600 f/4. The Sony versions will be ludicrously priced like their current 500 f/4 that no one buys, but will they even be released in this decade.

Are you saying that if I use this lens at 400mm , I will not get the same jpeg or raw file size (resolution), than if I used it at 100mm, everything being the same? I agree that 600mm would be better, but that is just telephoto length.

i think what thx1138 is trying to say is that 400mm on a full frame sensor, will not give enough reach for birding, and when paired with a 24mp sensor, after cropping the smaller image from the short range the image will not be big enough for print, in terms of pixels.

okay, but on the A7r2, plenty of resolution to allow reasonable cropping. I don't think anybody's going to be buying the a9 for birding (although there are plenty of birders with money to burn -- they'll spend $4k for binoculars).

I'm curious to see how this lens performs on a crop sensor. 600mm is a very usable FL for birding.

@ abdoboy, I think you be wrong, plenty of the best bird photographers use the 20-21mp 1dxii, D5 for birding, they just have 500/600/800mm lenses and use TC's. This has 15-20% more pixels so is a slightly better bet in that regards. Given the potential AF capabilities for tracking this will actually be a birders wet dream. But I would prefer native FE mount glass than adapting my Canon lenses,. However, if the Canon glass still performs admirably with adapters on the A9 then I'm very keen to get one and complement my 5D4.

Soccer sample shot with A7RII+500LI love this combo because of the great crop capabilities. A 5Ds would work as well but it would not follow the subject quite the same, it would require micro AF adjustments (found the 1DX and 7DII being a bit of a hit and miss with this lens in focus accuracy without calibration), and I do not have the same DR and real time exposure feedback:https://www.flickr.com/gp/98067729@N03/wb543Rorhttps://www.flickr.com/gp/98067729@N03/fX2Zuq

You mean like the already released, identically not black but instead grey/off white G Master SEL70200F2.8? Sony have been consistent with all their longer A and E mount G & G Master glass being grey/off white instead of black. The last one not to be this colour was the first gen SAL70400G which is silver. The second gen SAL70400G2 is grey/off-white and ever G/G Master lens 200mm and up since.

Probably because Canon is best at making high end lenses. By best I mean Canon has the most invested in their production facilities, and has the highest volume of production of high end lenses, yielding to better utilization of equipment and staff. That is the bonus of having huge market share, even if it is for an ancient old DSLR product. :-)

Sony is trying to play catch up, and it's expensive for them to do so, costs them more in the short run and yields to more expensive lenses (unless they want to eat the loss/lost profits).

Excited about the lens. Not excited about the price. I'll wait until I find one at a nice used price. I recently got a used 70-200 GM and for nature, really would like an extra 200mm w/o needing a converter.

@virtualreality - General agreement on latest releases has been: Best lenses, Canon. Best bodies, Nikon. In Sony's case, imitation is the best form of flattery. Buy the best investment first(lens), than buy the body.

post a Nikon D5 in front of the Sony Alpha 9 -and you will see the Sony anymore -you can't feel the expensive, high precise mechanics and viewfinder, you don't have the battery grip for much more power...from that point of view, I find the 9 very expensive.

But for taking pictures without any noise, without being brand marked as professional and with lots of speed - it could be a good second choice -if...there were the right lenses...

In lens IS is better for tele lenses. However, for anything lower than 100mm they should definitely also offer non-IS versions (canon and nikon do). It would bring down the weight AND cost. Even the 70-200 might be ok without the IS (might) for those with mkII bodies and above.

People who say in body image stabilisation doesn't work with longer focal lengths need to get out and try some long Olympus glass on an Olympus body! It words VERY well and has done since the days of the E3.

It is not that is does not work. It is just that it is better in the lens vs in the body.

It is a matter of trigonometry actually. Basically combining the two would give the best results.

Only IBIS is probably good enough though. I would prefer a cheaper and lighter less that has 3 stops of IS (IBIS only) vs 1.5x heavier, 1k more expensive just or an extra stop of IS (pulling numbers out of my a**, but just an example).

Camera shake is magnified as the lens focal length increases. At a certain point it will exceed the maximum IBIS compensation. Thus you have to have it in long teles or else you don't get sufficient stabilization.

But did you know this: ? As a lens gets really really wide angle the camera shake is bigger distance-wise at the sensor edges than at the center and the IBIS can't correct both since they require different levels of compensation. But O.S. in-lens will better avoid the image shake from happening since the correction happens earlier in the light path. That's why you see IS in some really wide lenses.

@sernd"Camera shake is magnified as the lens focal length increases. "That is false because shutter speeds, iso and/or aperture will increase too.Maximum acceptable shake is the same for tele and wide. IS will just add several stops, wich are always relative to the desired maximum blur at the focal plane.

"and the IBIS can't correct both "Wrong again. Most IBIS are 5-axis stabilized. Anyone can see that rotation and tilt of the sensor are not the same in the center and the corners.

Oh, really? You are soooo wrong. Shake is the movement of the light path across the sensor back and forth as a velocity which has to be compensated by an opposing velocity of the sensor or lens elements. If you alter the shutter speed you simply limit the duration of the shake, and not the velocity of the shake. If you alter the aperture of the shake, you do not alter the velocity of the shake and you don't even alter the duration of the shake. If you alter the ISO, you alter the speed and/or aperture which I've already shown don't alter the velocity of the shake.

Maximum acceptable shake is the same at the sensor. It's just that tele lenses magnify the shake velocity more than wide angle. It's simple geometry.

For wide angle shake, you have different velocity of the light shake across the sensor at different parts of the sensor. The sensor would have to be made of rubber to have IBIS compensate for different speeds at the same time.

"magnify the shake velocity "That is different from what you said before. That means your previous statement was not true.IBIS velocity was never an issue. Please provide source if you don't agree.

"The sensor would have to be made of rubber to have IBIS compensate for different speeds at the same time."False, I explained that before. Rotation and tilt of the sensor result in different compensation in the center and the corners.

I found the SEL 70-300 G to be a bit big and awkward. My right hand started cramping up after an hour or so of shooting because there is so little of the camera to grip. It might be better with a battery grip.

What they really need is the 400, 500 and 600mm competitors to the Canon and Nikon sports lenses. And since some of those are over $10K they can charge what they like if their new camera matches its marketing.

I agree about IQ improvements brendon, but it's not the IQ I'm worried about (I'm sure I wouldn't be able to tell the difference for any reasonable case), I'm more interested in AF performance, along with OSS.

Hi FuhTeng, I loved your comment about the $6000 lens tremendously. Anyhow, being an owner and user of the Canon 100-400L on a Metabones, I am pretty sure that this 100-400 will be the lens for us. I am selling my 100-400L immediately to replace it with this lens, which I was waiting for about 7 months now, but the wait is over. A dream camera + lens combo, but at a really hefty price.

"The FE 100-400mm GM is compatible with both the 1.4x (model SEL14TC) and 2.0x (model SEL20TC) teleconverters, allowing photographers and videographers to shoot at up to 800mm on full-frame cameras and approximately 1200mm (35mm full-frame equivalent) on APS-C cameras."

Personally, I do not like using any teleconverter. They usually degrade IQ with extra lens elements and increase problems with AF. And you can no longer use the original wide angle range when you want it since it no longer exists.

I would rather have the camera implement a digital zoom when needed so that you see & record the enlarged (by real-time interpolation) image just like with a teleconverter but there is no added IQ problems with extra lens elements or AF problems and you can still access the wide angle side (as well as the entire original range) of the zoom without degredation when needed.

I still do not like digital cameras. They are electronic as opposed to photographic. Manual SLRs still keep the heat and air conditioning running for me after 40 years, but I can't deny the utility of these electronic devices for my new hobby, birding.

I have an a6000 that is on permanent loan. Its not a camera I enjoy using at all as its handling is awful. If this lens is what I'm being told it is, I may have to endure several months of canned food to afford it.

1dx - I've been living and working in NYC for a lot longer than 20 years all supported by my film photography with manual SLRs. After all this time my professional network still functions since there is a demand for my work produced on film only. No cobwebs ever developed since I'm active and very functional, so I don't have the time you do to attempt and fail at ridicule so miserably as you did. I think you need some UV treatment of the fungal growth in your brain that has permanently etched your neurons.

It is interesting how the mere expression of reality, especially amongst the digitally obsessed disturbs them so . Maybe these dudes need to get a life.

for bbq - I like both painting and photography. I'm not a fan of electronically produced images. That was my point and my preference. You have no point.

My point is that if you dislike digital photography so much, why are you even here reading and posting on a digital photography forum?

I am not a fan of electronic music - but I don't go on e-music forum to tell everyone how much better my acoustic guitar from 30 years ago sounds :)

"... the mere expression of reality..." - that is YOUR reality perhaps, and that is great. But that's not the reality for many of us who either grew up with or switched many years ago to a more digital work flow. There is room for both. Enjoy what you have and what you feel comfortable with.

Stigg, if you are smart enough to use film Im surprised by your comment. Sony is the wrong brand to use if you dislike electronics. Canon or Nikon are solid choices for birding and you may use the lenses on film too. You can tape over the LCD for a filmlike experience. Small memory cards with 36 frames is another idea.

Different strokes and all that, Stigg, but when you look at Art Wolfe's work, and many others, I think that it just comes down to what the photographer prefers, not which is "better". Keep on shooting, but stay open minded to the incredible strides they are making in the digital world!

I use a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L (original push pull) on a Sony mirrorless with the excellent Metabones adapter. For my photography projects it's excellent but for continuous video AF, it isn't really great on the Sony. So, definitely I'll sell the Canon 100-400 to get this Sony 100-400.

Azathothh, you should always take test results with grain of salt. However for better or worse, they provide test results that you and I do not have. Which says alot. Agreed? Even if you do have, how do I know your result is not biased?

Tsk.. tsk.. PhotoKhan, too much generalization is not good for you.I know "L" lenses quite well thank you very much, and all the beauty of owning and using oh so satisfying to look at "red ring". Hell I better be, after 10+ years of using them. But you know what else? I also have a capacity to recognize a great lenses that does not have the "red ring" on it. And now, allow me to turn the table on you. Just what exactly have you explained or added that supports your statement?You say 80%, but what 80% are you even babbling about? Sharpness? AF? Vignette? CA? Distortion? Most importantly, can you back it up?

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